Cursed By Popularity
by Sweet Elizabeth 24
Summary: Zack and the gang finally get their shot at being the next big thing in the music industry. They had it all,the many adoring fans and great music. They had not the slightest idea someone was out there to destroy them and take their spotlight.
1. Getting Kicked Out

**Shot By Popularity**

**A/N: This story is based on a story that I had written a couple years ago. It was originally written as a fan fiction for my favorite band Natural. So I went ahead and decided to make it a Suite Life of Zack and Cody fan fiction. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. So please remember to read and review. **

**Plot: This story takes place after Zack and Cody after they have graduated high school. They are in a small apartment in downtown Boston. The apartment complex is not even ten minutes away from the Tipton where their mother still lived. At this point in the story they are eighteen years old. **

**Background: Tapeworm's dad and Max's mother got married in late 2006 before they entered high school. When they got married they all had to move to Los Angeles. That was only because Tapeworm's dad being in the military got stationed over there. They had to move to California and leave Zack and Cody in Boston. **

**Chapter 1: Getting Kicked Out**

Max was in a sound sleep when she was startled awake by a loud knocking on her and Tapeworm's apartment door. Max sat up on the couch and anxiously looked around the apartment trying to figure out where that loud knocking was coming from. She jumped when she heard that loud knocking again. She then realized that it was coming from front door.

She wiped her eyes and pushed herself up off the couch. As she groggily walked to the door the knocking got louder and harder. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm coming!" She yelled as she stopped at the door and unlocked it. She then opened the door and was greeted by an angry landlord.

"I need the rent money!" He demanded holding his hand out waiting for her to hand him the money.

"Mr. Collins, we don't have the rent money yet." Max said shaking her head. "We won't get paid until next week." She said.

"You guys are already a month behind on your rent." He said his hand falling to his side as he glared at Max.

"I know Mr. Collins." Max sighed. "We are doing the best we can." She said.

"Well, it's not the good enough." He said eyeing Max. "I better have that rent in my palm by the end of the day. Because if I don't have it then I am kicking you out, and give this apartment to a tenant that can actually pay the rent."

Max sighed and rolled her eyes. She nodded and shut the door in the landlord's face. She locked the door back and saw Tapeworm walking out of the hall into the den. He looked at Max as he was walking in the kitchen.

"Who was at the door?" He asked opening the refrigerator door and pulling out a soda.

"Mr. Collins." She replied. "Who else would it be?" She asked laying back down on the couch. She hoped she could go back to sleep.

"Don't know." Tapeworm replied. "What did he want?" He asked walking out of the kitchen and sitting down on the recliner next to the couch.

"Rent." Max replied. "What else would he want?"

"Did you tell him we won't have the money until next week?" He asked looking over at Max who had her eyes closed as she tried to go back to sleep.

"Yeah." Max said. "He said if we don't have to money by the end of the day he is kicking us out, and giving this apartment to a tenant who can actually keep up with the rent."

"Well, we might as well start packing." Tapeworm said taking a sip from his soda. "There is no way we are going to be able to come up with $800 by this evening."

"Where are we going to go?" Max asked opening her eyes as she looked over at Tapeworm. Tapeworm shrugged and took another sip of his soda.

"We could always call Zack and Cody in Boston." He said. "They did say to call them anytime we needed them."

"Tape, we haven't talked to them in over three years." Max said. "I don't think they will even remember that deal." She said looking at Tapeworm. Tapeworm shrugged again.

"You never know until you try." He said.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure they have there own problems to deal with." She said trying her best to unconvinced him into calling them.

"Max, just try." Tapeworm sighed.

"Fine." She said picking up he cell phone.

She scrolled down the contacts in her phone book until she found Zack's number. She took a deep breath and pressed the call button. She nervously placed the phone up to her ear. Her nerves only got worse when the phone started ringing. She didn't know why she was as nervous as she was. She was just calling him. Could she still have those feelings she had for him when she left.

"_Yeah." Zack answered his phone as he didn't recognize the number on his caller ID. _

"Zack, it Max." She replied a little bit surprised as he didn't recognize the number.

"_Oh." He replied feeling slightly embarrassed that he didn't remember her cell phone number. "Hey, what's up?" He asked sitting back against the couch. _

"Not much, It's just that me and Tapeworm are out of a house at the moment." She said going right to the point as she felt her face redden as they spoke. _'Yep the feelings are still there.' _She thought to herself.

"_What you mean, that you are out of a house?" He asked as he became concerned for his two best friends. Cody came around the corner and noticed Zack was in his phone, and had a concerned look on his face. Cody stepped closer to his brother and looked at him slightly concerned with whatever was concerning Zack. _

"_Zack, what's up?" Cody asked. Zack looked up at Cody and held out a finger to him shushing him for a minute. Cody backed off a little bit but stayed right there until Zack got off the phone. _

"_Oh wow!" Zack replied to what Max said. "Well, you both are welcome to come here and stay with us. Well, at least until you get back up on your feet again." He said.. "The only problem with our apartment is that is only two bedrooms. Someone is going to have to share a bed." _

"So you really don't mind Tapeworm and I coming to stay with you guys for a while?" Max asked slightly surprised.

"_No." Zack said shaking his head. "We don't mind at all. We actually can't wait to see you guys again. It's going to be fun." He said with a smile. "It's been too long." _

"Great!" Max said with a smile. "Can't wait to see you!" She said a hung up.

"Well?" Tapeworm asked.

"They said that it was fine." She said placing the phone down on the coffee table..

"Zack what was that about?" Cody asked looking at him. Zack closed his phone, and placed it on the armrest of the couch.

"Max and Tapeworm are out of a house at the moment." Zack said looking at Cody. "They couldn't afford the rent and their landlord is kicking them out. So I said that they could come and stay here with us until they can get back on their feet."

"Zack, we don't have enough room for four people." Cody said.

"Sure we do." Zack said with a nod. "One of us can sleep on the couch and let either Tapeworm or Max sleep in the room."

"What about the other person?" Cody said. "That is only enough room for three people."

"We'll worry about that when they get here." Zack said picking up his guitar and leaned back into the couch then started playing a song that he knew.

"This better work." Cody said walking towards the kitchen.

"It will." Zack said to himself. "Even if that means me sharing a bed with Max." He whispered with a grin.


	2. Meeting Up Again

**A/N: Hey guys! Here is my new chapter. I hope you guys like my new story. I got a total of 25 hits and 1 review. Please leave a review I want to know if you guys like the story. **

**Chapter 2: Meeting Up Again**

Max and Tapeworm were already packed and ready to go. They brought all of there luggage into the living room and laid them next to the door. They double checked their rooms to make sure that all of their luggage was out and in the living room. Tapeworm walked out of the hallway and nodded at Max letting her know that everything was out of the bedrooms and ready to be placed in the car. Max was about to open the door and carry her luggage out when there was a loud hard knock on the door. Max jumped a little bit and opened to door.

"Do you have the rent?" Mr. Collins asked in his usual hard gruff voice. Max looked over her shoulder at Tapeworm. Tapeworm looked at Max and then up at the landlord and smiled at him and shook his head.

"No sir." He replied.

"Then get out!" The landlord said his voice even rougher than before.

"That is exactly what we are doing." Max said picking up her luggage and pushing her way past Mr. Collins.

Mr. Collins was surprised that they were already packed and ready to go. Tapeworm noticed the shocked look on Mr. Collins face and smiled. He picked up his luggage and followed Max out to the car. Tapeworm stopped next to Max and helped her lift all the luggage into there small four door 2005 Ford Focus that was given to them as a graduation gift.

They finished loading the trunk with there luggage and shut the trunk. Tapeworm pulled the keys out of his pocket and walked over to the drivers side. As Max walked over to passenger side she opened the door and looked back over her shoulder and saw the landlord staring at them. She smiled and waved to him. She got in and shut the door and then looked over at Tapeworm.

"You think he is going to miss us?" She asked as they pulled out of the apartment complex as she noticed he was still staring at them.

"Probably." He replied with a smile. "What other tenant would give him such a rough day." He said with a smile. Max laughed and little and smiled.

After a week they finally made it to Massachusetts. They still had to get to Boston. Two more days they traveled and they finally arrived in Boston. They pulled into downtown Boston and looked around for Zack and Cody's apartment complex. Tapeworm looked around at all the complex's they passed and turned to Max.

"Do you even remember the name of the complex that they live in?" Tapeworm asked as he looked at all the apartment complex titles.

"Yeah, it's called Highland Apartment Complex." She replied. "Yeah, see it's right there." She said pointing to the street to turn into. Tapeworm turned into the street that Max was pointing to.

"Which number is there building?" Tapeworm asked as he looked at the many different buildings and numbers. "They even have letters. Do you remember the letter too?" He asked.

"No not really." Max said. Tapeworm sighed and pulled over into a parking place. "Call them." He demanded.

"Fine." She said and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled down her contacts until she got to Zack's name. She pressed the call button on her phone and placed the phone up to her ear.

Zack was lying on the couch napping when his cell phone that was lying on his chest started vibrating. He jumped and opened his eyes. He picked up his phone and flipped it open and placed it up against his ear.

"Hello?" He groggily answered the phone.

"Zack, it's Max." She said. Zack's eyes widened and he sat up.

"Max, what's up?" He asked wiping his eyes.

"Tapeworm and I are trying to find your apartment. What is the letter and number?" She asked.

"Apartment building letter L room number 252. We are on the third floor." He said.

"Letter L number 252." She said looking at Tapeworm.

"We are right next to it." Tapeworm said.

"Great!" Max said. "We'll be there in a moment." She said and hung up her phone.

Tapeworm started the car again and pulled out of the parking place he was in and pulled into the little street that led to the L buildings. They looked at the numbers that was engraved into the buildings.

"We are looking for the 250's." Max said looking at all the engraved numbers. "230." She said as they passed the 230's. "240." She said.

Tapeworm kept driving straight when he saw a guy walking down the stairs of the 250 building. He looked harder at the guy and realized that it was Zack.

"There he is." He said driving straight ahead towards the guy.

"Who?" Max asked as she saw the guy too. "Is that Zack?" She asked.

"Looks like it." Tapeworm said.

Tapeworm pulled into an empty parking place in front of the apartment building that Zack was standing in front of. Tapeworm put the car in park and looked up and smiled as he saw Zack smiling back at them. Max smiled and waved to him.

Tapeworm popped the trunk and he and Max got out of the car and walked around to the back, and began to pull out their suitcases. Zack walked around to the back of the car and helped Max lift her things.

"Cody!" He yelled as he started walking up the stairs to the apartment.

"What?" Cody asked walking out of the hall to see Zack and Max walking in. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed. "Max." He said walking over to her and hugging her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." She replied hugging him back. "How are you and Zack?"

"We're great." He replied as they pulled away and looked into her eyes. "You haven't changed a bit. You are still as beautiful as you were five years ago." He said.

"Yeah, I know that's right." Zack added on to Cody's comment. "Only slightly more developed." He said with a grin.

Max smiled and blushed a little bit. Zack smiled and walked back outside and helped Tapeworm with the rest of the luggage. Zack and Tapeworm walked back in and placed the suitcases down on the floor and looked at each other.

"There are a few complications." Cody said looking at Max and Tapeworm. Tapeworm and Cody's eyes grew wide.

"What's that?" Max asked looking from Cody to Zack. Zack sighed and crossed his arms across his chest.

"We only have two beds." He said looking at Max and Tapeworm.

"So what is going to happen?" Max asked looking from Zack to Cody.

"Well we have a couch." Zack said. "I'll be a gentlemen and take the couch that way one of our guests can have my bed."

"That's all well and good, but we still have another person who needs a place to stay." Cody said looking at Zack.

"It's all cool Max and I can share a room." Tapeworm said.

"Or." Zack said interrupting Tapeworm, "Tapeworm you could share a bed with Cody. I mean you two are like best friends anyway. Then Max could have the bedroom to herself. I'm pretty sure she would want some room to herself. After all she is a girl." He said looking at Max who seemed slightly flattered by Zack's remark.

"Wow Zack, that is really sweet of you, but I don't know how Tapeworm and Cody would feel about sharing a room." She said looking at the expressions on Cody and Tapeworm's face.

"Yeah, I'm not sleeping in the same bed with another guy." Tapeworm said, "No offence to you Cody." He said.

"None taken." Cody replied, "I feel the same way."

"Fine." Zack sighed. "We have a cot in the attic." He said walking towards the hallway and pulling the string down to the attic. "It came with the house." He said climbing the stairs to the attic. "Who gets the cot?" He yelled from the attic as he started to climb down the stairs with the cot.

"I'll take it." Tapeworm said. "I'll share a room with Cody as long as I don't have to sleep in the same bed." He said.

"Good then everything is settled." Zack said with a nod as he handed the cot to Tapeworm. "I'll take the couch and Max can have my bed." He said.

"Sounds good." Max agreed with a nod and picked up her suitcases. "I guess I'll start to unpack." She said as she started to walk down the hall towards the bedroom.

"I'll help you." Zack said following her to his bedroom.

"Come on I'll help you." Cody said picking up Tapeworm's suitcases and carrying them to his room.


	3. Confessions

**A/N: Hey guys! What's up! Well I hope you all are enjoying my story, and if you are here is the newest addition to the story. Again I have a total of 58 hits and 1 review. I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I would really like to get some more reviews. So please leave a review I really love hearing your feed back. So please leave me and review, and tell me what you think of it. Reviews are so greatly appreciated. **

**Chapter 3: Confessions**

"Tape and I really appreciate you guys taking us in for a little bit." Max said as she placed the suitcase on top of Zack's bed, and popped it open.

"Anything to help you guys out." Zack replied walking up next to Max. Max looked over her shoulder at Zack and smiled. Zack smiled back and reached into her suitcase and pulled out some of her clothes. "So how much about you do I not know?" He asked as he walked to his closet and hung up some of her clothes.

"What?" She asked with a laugh as she turned around at the same time as he did and they made eye contact.

"What I was trying to ask is what's new with you." Zack said with a smile as he walked over towards Max.

"Oh, nothing really has changed. I'm still the same ole Max." She said handing him some more clothes that needed to be hung up.

"Good. I like the old Max." He said taking the clothes brushing his hand across hers not purposely though. They looked up at each other as their hands brushed against each others. Max blushed a little bit and quickly turned back around to her suitcase and pulled out some more clothes. "So do you have any boyfriends I should know about?" He asked hanging up her clothes.

"No I don't" She said turning back towards him. Zack smiled and nodded as he walked over to the bed and closed her suitcase and carried it over to the closet. "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked as he turned back around and walked back over to the bed and opened her other suitcase that was full of make up and toiletries.

"No I don't have a girlfriend." He said as he walked to the bathroom in his bedroom and started setting up the make up. Max followed him into the bathroom and watched as he set her toiletries up.

"You really don't mind me having all my messy make ups and toiletries in your bathroom?" She asked propping against the bathroom doorway.

"No." Zack replied quickly. "Of course not. I want you to feel at home." He said looking up in the mirror to see Max looking back at him. "Plus, they smell really good." He said with a smile. Max smiled back. "You are really beautiful." He thought out loud.

"Thank-you." She replied. "You're not bad yourself."

Zack laughed a little bit and turned around to face her and smiled as they made eye contact. Max smiled back and turned out of the bathroom doorway and walked back to the bed where she placed her last suitcase that had her personal items. Zack saw her about to open the last suitcase and walked over to the bed and placed his hand on the top of it about to open it.

"No." Max said quickly placing her hand on top of his hand. Zack looked over at her with a confused expression on his face. "It's personal items." She said her face turning a little red. "I can handle it by myself." She said.

"Okay." Zack replied sliding his hand from underneath hers.

He noticed just how soft her hands were up underneath his. He closed his eyes for a moment as he slid the rest of his hand out from underneath hers. He pulled up and looked down at Max who looked up at him. Zack cautiously stepped closer to Max and slowly leaned down towards her.

Before he knew what he was doing he locked lips with her and ran his hands up underneath her dark brown hair holding the back of her neck. Max wasn't really comprehending what she was doing either. She didn't fight Zack. She fell into his kiss and wrapped her arms around his back.

"So what have you and Max been up to since you guys' parents got married?" Cody asked Tapeworm as they finished unpacking Tapeworm's stuff.

"Not much." Tapeworm said. "She had a job at a local boutique in the mall, and I helped out at the YMCA." He said. "It still wasn't enough to pay for our rent so we got kicked out."

"How was California?" He asked as he and Tapeworm walked out of the bedroom towards Zack's room to see if they needed any help.

"It was okay." Tapeworm said. "It isn't as great as people say. Traffic is horrible and there are just too many people."

"Yeah." He agreed "Do you guys need any help?" Cody asked as he and Tapeworm walked into the bedroom and immediately stopped in their tracks when they saw what was happening. Zack and Max ripped apart quickly and turned towards Tapeworm and Cody. It was too late they already saw what happened. Zack scratched his head nervously and Max was redder than an apple.

"Uh it's not what you think." Zack nervously said.

"Yeah, I was just showing him mouth to mouth resuscitation." Max said backing up Zack. Zack nodded in agreement to Max's statement.

"Uh huh." Cody said, "We just came in here to see if you guys needed any help."

"It really doesn't look like you guys need help. I think you helped yourself enough." Tapeworm said and walked out of the bedroom. Cody followed behind him.

"Sorry about that." Zack said looking at Max nervously. "I don't know what came over me."

"Me too." Max replied just as nervously as he did.

Zack nodded and quickly walked out of the bedroom and walked into the living room where Tapeworm and Cody were. Max watched as Zack walked out of the bedroom, and fell against the wall with a dreamy smile and expression on her face. Zack walked into the living room trying to hide the smile on his face as he walked into the kitchen.

Max finished unpacking her clothes and carried them into an empty drawer that Zack had in his bedroom. She pulled open the drawer and saw a small box and notebook inside. She placed her clothes down on the floor, and pulled them out. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was standing behind her.

When she saw that no one was around her curiosity started to kick in. She opened the box and saw old pictures that he had kept of him and her as they grew up. As she went through them the memories went by in her head like a movie. Each picture she looked at brought a smile to her face.

As she finished going through the pictures she opened the notebook and flipped through the pages. She figured it was songs he had written in the past years. As she continued flipping through them she realized a lot of the songs that he had written had to do with a girl that he liked. A girl that he had liked for a while, years maybe. She smiled as she read them and slowly began to figure out they were about her. As she flipped to the last page she saw a piece of paper that was printed off the internet. It was a song that she knew all the words to and loved, called "How Do You Talk An Angel" She figured that it was a song that he liked and dedicated to her.

She placed the paper back into the notebook and put all of the stuff back into the drawer. She walked over to his closet and pulled out his guitar and walked back over to the bed. She wrapped the guitar around her shoulder, closed her eyes and began playing the intro to, "How Do You Talk To An Angel"

_**I hear a voice in my mind**_

_**I know her face by heart **_

_**Heaven and earth are moving in my soul**_

_**I don't know where to start **_

_**Tell me, tell me, the words to define**_

_**The way I feel about someone so fine**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**How do you hold her close to where you are**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**(Guitar solo)**_

_**At night I dream that she is there**_

_**And I can feel her in the air**_

_**Tell me, tell me, the words to define**_

_**The way I feel about someone so fine**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**How do you hold her close to where you are **_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**It's like trying to catch a falling star**_

_**(Guitar solo) **_

_**How do you talk to an angel **_

_**How do you hold her close to where you are **_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**It's like trying to catch a falling star**_

_**How do you talk to an angel **_

_**How do you hold her close to where you are**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

_**It's like trying to catch a falling star**_

_**Yeah, yeah**_

Max opened her eyes after she finished singing the song and saw Zack, Tapeworm, and Cody standing in the doorway looking at her wide eyed in surprise. They didn't know that she had such a beautiful voice. As she saw all of them looking at her they all applauded her. She smiled and took the guitar off of her shoulder and laid it down on the bed.

"That was beautiful." Zack said staring at her dreamily.

"Thanks." She said with a smile and little blush.

"You never told us you had a voice like that." Cody said.

"Yeah, I lived with you for years and never knew you could sing." Tapeworm said, "A voice like that needs to be on cds."

"I know." Zack agreed and turned his attention away from Max to the guys. "Guys, can you excuse us a moment?" He asked.

"Of course." Cody said walking out of the room. Tapeworm smiled at Max and followed Cody out of the bedroom.

Zack watched until Cody and Tapeworm were out of hearing and seeing distance. He stepped all the way inside the bedroom and sat on the bed next to Max.

"What was that?" He asked looking at her.

"I'm sorry Zack." She replied. "I went through your notebook of songs and found that song. I figured out that your songs were about me and I just wanted to let you know that I feel the same as you do." She said. "I've always liked you Zack."

"Well, I can't be mad at you." He said with a smile. "It was my personal stuff, but like I said I can't be mad at you." He said as he moved closer to her. "I'm actually quite happy you found it. I've been meaning to tell you how I feel for a long time now. I've been working on those songs for four years." He said and ran his hand up underneath her hair and gently pulled her close to him and leaned down towards her and locked lips with her.

"You know." Max said as they pulled apart, "You could stay in here with me tonight." She said.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I mean it is your room and your bed. I don't want to kick you out of your own room. So you can stay in here tonight with me if you wanted to." She said smiling back at him. "So do you?" She asked.

"I'd love to." He said with a smile and a nod as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Good." Max said with a smile, "I was hoping you would say yes." She said meeting him half way. Zack smiled at her and locked lips with her again.


	4. Battle of the Bands News

**A/N: Hey guys! I can't tell if you guys like my story because I still haven't gotten any reviews. I really don't know how you feel about my story, because I haven't received any feedback. I didn't know this for awhile, but even if you don't have an account you can review. So please account or no account please leave a small review. Even if it just says I like it keep writing, or it's good. Anything at all is welcomed. I don't need a huge paragraph just enough to know if you like my story. **

**Chapter 4: Battle of The Bands News**

"Guys check this out!" Max exclaimed as she was flipping through a magazine that was lying around the apartment while she was eating breakfast and drinking a cup of coffee. They all got up and crowded around her.

"What's up?" Zack asked placing his hands on her shoulders as he leaned over to her to see what was going on.

"They are holding another Battle of The Bands Competition." She said, "And signups are tonight at the mall." She said. "I think we should go."

"Ha, ha." Cody laughed a little. "Are you serious?" He asked a then noticed that Zack was giving him a dirty look. He looked as if he would punch Cody for laughing at her comment. "I mean, people train months for that stuff."

"Oh come on." Max said looking at Cody, "It would be fun. Plus we haven't been to one of those things in like six years. I think we should try it." She said.

"I agree." Zack said looking down at the magazine article.

"Of course you would." Cody said. Zack looked up from the magazine and glared at his brother.

"Okay, before we jump to decisions what are the guidelines and details." Tapeworm said.

"Well, it's for bands and solos." Zack said looking over the article. "It says you have to bring in your own music and they will provide the instruments. It says you can use your own songs or other artist's songs."

"I think we should do it." Max said, "I mean we can't be that rusty."

"You may not be." Cody said, "But the rest of us are."

"Speak for yourself bro." Zack said, "I play guitar on a regular basis."

"Yeah, and I have continued to play drums over the years." Tapeworm said.

"If anyone is rusty it's you." Zack said.

"So are we going to do it?" Max asked.

"Yeah, we are." Zack said. "Sign ups start tonight at 7:30 and the actual competition is tomorrow. Max and I are going to the mall tonight to sign up." He said grabbing his keys. "Tapeworm please work with Cody on the keyboard. We have to refresh his memory." He said walking to the door. "Come on Max." He said.

Max smiled at Cody and Tapeworm and walked over to the door. Zack stepped aside and let Max step out the apartment before him. Zack flashed his brother and Tapeworm a smile and shut the door behind him.

"BATTLE OF THE BANDS SIGN UPS OVER HERE!" A man yelled as he waved a hand to the crowd of people looking for sign ups.

Max and Zack walked into the mall and looked around trying to find where the signups were. "God there is a lot of people here." He said as he took her hand in his and walked deeper into the mall.

"I hope this isn't the line to sign up." She said.

"I hope not either." He said.

"BATTLE OF THE BANDS SIGN UPS OVER HERE!" The man yelled again waving a clip board in the air.

"Are there like five lines to sign up?" He asked as he saw five young men holding clip boards.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said as she saw all the people going to one of the five lines.

"Well, then lets go." Zack said grabbing Max's hand and pulling her to the line closest to them.

They got in line behind a very tall and slim young man that had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. The guy pulled up from the table after he finished signing up and turned around and saw Zack and Max. A smile came across his face as he recognized them right off.

"Well, if it's Zack Martin and Maxine Montgomery from the band Rock Squared. I remember you both from the 2005 Battle of The Bands. That was the year your band won." He said his smile never fading.

"Yeah, and you remember us from that long ago?" Zack asked not smiling back at him. Max kind of looked up at Zack in confusion. She had no idea how the guy knew them. She was almost frightened that the guy knew her whole name.

"Of course." He said. "You guys were good for your age."

Zack looked at the guy suspiciously he knew that the guy didn't mean what he just said. The guy looked down at Max and smiled at her. Max swallowed and backed up into Zack a little bit as she felt slightly uncomfortable around the guy.

"The only difference is that your little girlfriend is fully grown and might I add she is so much hotter than she was six years ago." He said checking her out. Max pulled her jean jacket over her tank top and covered herself up.

"Just stop." Zack said as he knew Max was quite uncomfortable. "Back off and leave her alone." He said growing annoyed with him. The guy let out a small laugh and smiled at Max.

"You think I'm going to take you seriously?" He asked Zack and stepped out of line. "I'm going to crush you and your chances of winning." He said looking at Zack. "Not that you have much of a chance anyway, you have a frizzy haired freak on drums, a nerdy geek on the keyboard, and you the guy who thinks he's cool, but really isn't anything but a loser. The only thing your band has going you is a hot chick." He said looking at Max. "So be prepared to be crushed." He said walking off.

Zack glared at the guy as he walked away who was looking back at him with a evil smile. Max released her jacket and looked up at Zack. He watched as the guy disappeared and looked down at Max.

"Who was that jerk?" She asked.

"You remember the band Scarlett Spider that was at the 2005 competition as the opening act? They were the 2004 winners." Zack asked looked down at her as he stepped forward to sign up.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Well, that was Jacob Morgan the lead singer of Scarlett Spider. He has hated me since I won the 2005 battle of the bands." He said.

"Oh what is jealousy?" Max asked.

"Probably." Zack replied as he took the clipboard from the man that was in front of him.

"What's your band's name?" the guy asked him.

"Rock Squared there is four of us." Zack replied.

"Okay, you know this competition is going to be slightly different than the rest of the competitions." He said.

"It is?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, this competition is going to have three competitions. We have the first competition where we hear from all of the acts. The second competition is where we narrow it down to four groups or soloist depending on what you are signed up for. Then there is the last competition where we narrow it down to the top two and we hear them perform and then decide who the winner is." The guy explained looking at both Zack and Max.

"So we need to prepare three songs?" Zack asked.

"Yes, the songs you choose can be anything. It doesn't have to be your own it can be whatever you want it to." He told Zack.

"And you provide the instruments, right?" Zack asked.

"Yes." The guy said, "What will you need for the competition?"

"Well, we are going to need electric guitar, electric bass and keyboard, and we will also need a set of drums, and microphones of course. We don't anything big." Zack said with a smile.

"Okay, we also need to know the three songs that you will have prepared in case you move on to the finals." The guys said. Max and Zack looked down at each other as they realized that they forgot the songs.

"Uh, what should we sing?" Zack asked looking at Max.

"Zack, I think you should sing, _**How Do You Talk To An Angel**_." She said looking up at Zack who seemed slightly uncomfortable about singing that song. "Please Zack, I want to hear it from you." She begged. Zack sighed and looked up at the guy and nodded.

"Okay, sign us up for that." Zack said and glanced back down at Max who looked back up at him.

"Thank-you." She said with a smile.

"What are your other two songs?" The guy asked.

"We are going to do, well, she is going to sing _**One in A Million**_." Zack said.

"What?" Max quickly asked.

"If I sing that song you have to sing **_One in a Million_**" Zack said.

"Fine." She agreed. "Put that down too."

"Okay and what is you last song?" The guy asked.

"We'll just go with, **_Every Breath You Take_**." Zack said.

"Okay, we will see you guys tomorrow afternoon at 12:00. You are going to be performance number 25. You'll be going on right after Scarlett Spider." The guy said.

"Thank-you sir." Zack said and took Max's hand and they walked out of the mall. "We just got to hope Cody learned quickly."

"Yeah." Max agreed as they walked out to Zack's car.

Zack and Max got home and it was right at 9:00. They walked in and saw Tape and Cody working on the keyboard. They stopped at the doorway and listened to Cody. Max and Zack looked at each other and smiled. Everything had come back to Cody.

"You're doing great." Max said walking up behind Cody and placed her hands on his shoulders and began to sing the song that Cody was playing.

Zack smiled at her and listened to her sing. He hung is jacket up in the closet and walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to him and sang along with her. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him as she continued to sing. He smiled back at her and continued to sing.

"Guys, we got signed up, and this competition is going to be slightly different from the last competition. They have us prepare three songs." Zack said as the song finished. "We will only use the other two if we make it too finals."

"So do you think we have a good chance at going to finals?" Tapeworm asked.

"I don't know, because Scarlett Spider is going to be there." Zack said shaking his head.

"Oh man." Tapeworm sighed as he remembered how good they were from the 2005 competition. Zack nodded in agreement. "They're really good."

"How do you know they are going to be there?" Cody asked looking at his brother.

"I ran into Jacob Morgan at the sign ups. We are also on after them tomorrow at noon." Zack said.

"Ah man, he's hated you since you won the 2005 competition." Cody nervously said. Zack nodded in agreement.

"This should be fun." Zack sarcastically stated and walked into the bedroom. Max watched as Zack disappeared down the hallway to the bedroom.

"Guys, just be ready to leave tomorrow at 11:00." She said and followed Zack into the bedroom.


	5. The Competition

**A/N: Hey guys! What's up? I got a review asking about my other story, "Illicit Love" I promise you guys that I haven't forgotten about that story. I'm still working on chapter 2. I'm trying to make it the best I can. So I haven't forgotten about it. Trust me. That story is one story I really want to finish. Oh and thanks for that review. J I hope to get some more soon.**

**There is something about this chapter that I should tell you. This maybe one of my more boring chapters. The reason I say that is because it's quite long and it's almost like a musical chapter. This takes place at the competition and I wanted to be sure that I got all of their songs in it, and also there is going to be small confrontations with Scarlett Spider. So I really hope this chapter isn't too boring. **

**Also I have some news on sequels to two of my stories. In case you are interested I'm in the process of making my sequel to, "A Night To Remember." It is going to be about Maddie returning to Boston for Zack's graduation and their new relationship. **

**The second sequel I am going to be working on is a sequel to this story. I hope it will be good. The way I see it forming in my head it seems like it will be good. The second part to this story is going to take place 7 years after this. This will probably spoil the ending to this story, but here it goes. Jacob is released from jail on good behavior. When he is released he goes on a search for Max. When he finally does find her is he going to destroy what is left of her life, and Zack's second half? **

**Well those are my two sequels that will be coming out soon. I hope you guys will like it. **

**Please read and review. I really want to hear from you. **

**Chapter 5: The Competition**

The next morning Max woke up at 9:00. She wanted to get up early so she could make sure she looked her best for the competition. She wanted to make sure she looked hot. She tried to get up when she felt something wrapped around her stomach. She looked over and saw Zack was still asleep. She gently lifted his arm off of her stomach and slid out from underneath him.

She walked to the closet and pulled out her favorite outfit. It was a jean miniskirt with a brown leather belt and brown spaghetti strap tank top. She walked to the shower and started to get her shower.

Zack woke up at about 10:00 and walked to the bathroom and stopped when he saw Max putting on her jewelry. She noticed someone standing in the doorway out the corner of her eye. She looked over to her left and saw Zack standing there.

"Morning." She said with a kind smile. Zack smiled back and shook his head. "What?" She asked.

"You." He said, "You told me you would never wear a skirt ever."

"Well." She said with a laugh, "I guess I became more of a girly girl over the years. Is that a bad thing?" She asked with a smile.

"No." He replied, "Not at all."

"Good." She said. "I'd hate to disappoint you." She said lifting his chin with her hand as she walked by. Zack watched her as she walked out of the bedroom.

"You'd never disappoint me." He said to himself as he walked into the bathroom.

11:00 came and the gang arrived at the mall. They looked around at all the people that were in the competition and the people who would be watching it.

"Wow!" Cody said. "There is a ton of people here."

"Yeah, this is like 50 times the size of the last competition." Tapeworm said as he stared in awe at the many people.

"Well, this is the major stuff." Zack said. "If we win this we are going to be the next big thing in the music industry. That means better cars, better house, maybe even a big commitment." He said looking down at Max. Max looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"I don't think that is going to happen." Jacob said as he and his band pushed their way past Zack and the rest of them. "We all know that Scarlett Spider is going to crush every single one of you guys. We are the best and you know that just as well as we do." He said as he walked past them. Zack glared at Jacob. Jacob turned around and saw the look on Zack's face. He shrugged and smiled. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

"I hate that guy." Max said as she watched him walking off. Jacob noticed Max staring at him.

"What is it baby?" He asked. "You like what you see. I'm sure I got what you need. Call me!" He said and then turned back around and walked up on stage with his band.

"Next up is Scarlett Spider. They were the winners of the 2004 and 2006 Battle of the Bands." the announcer said and paused as he waited for the applause to die down. "So here they are SCARLETT SPIDER!" he said.

Scarlett Spider walked onto the stage and started playing the intro to their song. Zack, Max, Cody, and Tapeworm walked up closer to the stage not only because they were next but they were also drawn into Scarlett Spider's music. As they finished they walked off of the stage. Jacob walked over down next to Zack and stood in front of him.

"YOU HEAR THAT!" Jacob yelled over the applause. "YEAH!" he said. "PEOPLE WORSHIP US! WE TOTALLY CRUSHED ANY OF YOUR CHANCES ON WINNING." Jacob continued to yell over the applause. "OH LOOK YOUR NEXT! GOOD LUCK ON NOT BEING HUMILIATED." He said and walked past them.

"Next up is Rock Squared. They are the winners of the 2005 Battle of the Bands, and rocked out to their song that they called, "School's Out." The announcer said and paused as he waited for the applause to die. "So let's welcome Rock Squared!" He said.

"Come on guys!" Zack said. "Let's get this over with." He said and walking over to the stairs to the stage.

Tapeworm and Cody walked out on stage first. Tapeworm took out his drumsticks and sat behind the drums on his stool. Cody walked behind his keyboard and waited for Zack and Max to come out.

"Are you ready for your solo?" Zack asked Max with a smile. Max looked up at him and took a deep breath.

"I'm ready, how about you rock star?" She asked.

"I'm ready." He said and gave her a hug. "Ready to kick some Scarlett Spider ass?" He asked her as they pulled away."

"Yeah." She replied. "Which song are we going to start off with?" She asked

"Your's baby." He said, "Now lets go." He said walking her on stage.

"But Zack." She whispered as they walked on stage.

"I know you can do it. I believe in you." He whispered. "You are going to blow the judges away."

Max nodded and took her spot on stage and looked over at Zack. Zack looked over at her and gave her a smile. A smiled that seemed to say, that she could do it. Just looking at his smile she felt 100 better. She smiled back at him, and turned towards to judges and the hundreds of people staring at them. Zack turned towards the audience and judges and started off with a small introduction.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and judges, I'd like to introduce the band to you." He said and saw out the corner of his eye saw Jacob and the rest of Scarlett Spider pushing up towards the front to see them humiliate themselves. "I'm Zack and this lovely lady next to me is Max. She and I are the lead singers of the band, and behind me is my brother Cody on keyboards, and my friend Tapeworm on drums. We are going to start off with a song that is going to be sung by Max. It's called, _**One in a Million.**_ So I'm going to turn the microphone over to Max." He said as he looked at Cody cueing him to start the introduction with him, followed by Tapeworm on drums,

**Max- _How did I get here_**

_**I turned around and there you were**_

_**I didn't think twice or rationalize**_

_**Cuz somehow I knew **_**(She comes in on bass guitar)**

_**That there was more than just chemistry **_

_**I mean I knew you were kind of into me**_

_**But I figured it's to good to be true**_

_**I said pinch me where's the catch this time**_

_**Can't find a single cloud in the sky**_

_**Help me before I get used to this guy**_

_**They say that good things take time**_

_**But really great things happen in the blink of an eye**_

_**Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one**_

_**I can not believe it. Oh. **_

_**You're one in a million**_

**The whole group-_ All this time I was looking for love_**

_**Trying to make things work**_

_**They weren't good enough**_

_**Till I thought I'm through**_

_**Said I'm done**_

_**Then stumbled into the arms on the one**_

**Max- _You're making me laugh about the silliest stuff_**

_**Say that I'm your diamond in the rough**_

_**When I'm mad at you**_

_**You come with your velvet touch**_

_**Can't believe I'm so lucky**_

_**I have never felt so happy**_

_**Every time I see that sparkle in your eyes**_

_**They say that good things take time**_

_**But really great things happen in the blink of an eye**_

_**Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one**_

_**I can not believe it. Oh. **_

_**You're one in a million. Yeah, yeah. **_

**The whole group- _All this time I was looking for love_**

_**Trying to make things work**_

_**They weren't good enough**_

_**Till I thought I'm through**_

_**Said I'm done**_

_**Then stumbled into the arms on the one**_

**Max- _I said pinch me_**

_**Where's the catch this time**_

_**Can't find a single cloud in the sky**_

_**Help me before I get used to this guy**_

_**They say that good things take time**_

_**But really great things happen in the blink of an eye**_

_**Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one**_

_**I can not believe it. Oh. Yeah, yeah.**_

_**They say that good things take time**_

_**But really great things happen in the blink of an eye**_

_**Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one**_

_**I can not believe it. Oh. **_

_**You're one in a million. Yeah.**_

_**One in a million. Yeah.**_

_**You're one in a million.**_

As she finished her song she reopened her eyes and realized she played the whole song with her eyes closed. It was like it was inside of her the whole time. As she opened her eyes the mall was filled with cheering and applause, and a smile crept across her face and she looked over at Zack with a look of shock and happiness on her face. Zack smiled and nodded.

"TOLD YOU, YOU COULD DO IT!" He yelled over the applause and took his guitar off and placed it back in it's holder. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Cody and Tapeworm walked up to her and hugged her.

"You were great!" Cody exclaimed as he hugged her.

"It seemed as if you had it in you the whole time." Tapeworm said as he hugged her. They all pulled away from her and noticed that she was crying.

"Aww, she's crying." Cody said.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked, "You blew everyone away."

"I know that's why I'm crying and can't believe I had it in me." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Zack looked over into the audience and saw Jacob giving them a dirty look. Zack ignored him and turned back to Max and hugged her again. He pulled away from her and they all walked off stage.

As 6:00pm came they were ready to announce the winners of the 1st half. One of the judges stepped on stage holding four envelops. He picked up a microphone and began to speak.

"Well, it's been a long six hours, but we have heard all the many talents that signed up. We would love to sign all of you guys to a label, but as we all know we can only narrow you down to four. So here are the winners of the first half that get to continue on into the next round." He said as he opened to first envelop.

"Guys, he's about to announce the top four winners." Tapeworm said walking to the middle of the crowd. Zack, Max, and Cody followed behind him.

"I want all the winners to step up on stage when I call you." The judge said, "Arianna Collins, Kayla Mitchell, Scarlett Spider, and Rock Squared." The judge said.

"Oh my God!" Max exclaimed in almost a scream.

"You losers won't win the next round." Jacob said as he pushed Tapeworm and Cody to the side and wrapped his arm around Max's lower back. "I guarantee that." He said. Max quickly turned around and pushed his arm off of her.

"Get off of me!" She demanded.

"You know you like it." He said eyeing Max. Zack gently pushed Max behind him and stood in front of Jacob.

"No Zack." Max said pulling on his arm. "Just let it go."

"He is touching you inappropriately." Zack said looking at her.

"I know." Max said, "Just let it go." She said. Zack pulled back some and continued to glare at Jacob. Jacob snorted a little and shook his head.

"You are wiped horribly." Jacob said, "I wouldn't let that little hoe tell me what to do."

"What!" Zack yelled stepping forward again.

"You heard me you are so whipped." Jacob said.

"I don't care what you say about me, but you will not talk about her like that." Zack stated boldly.

"She must if she is in a band with all three of you. She's probably you guys' little sex toy." Jacob said and walked off. Zack started to go after him when Max grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Zack, just let it go." Max said, "Don't stoop to his level."

At 7:30 that night Scarlett Spider finished there second song and walked off of stage and Rock Squared was on the other side of the stage getting prepared to go on stage. Max looked over at Zack and saw that he still looked upset. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Don't let what that jerk said keep you mad." She said laying her head on his chest. Zack looked down at her and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side, and laid his head on top of hers. "Think about your song and who it is for." She said.

"Next up is Rock Squared." The judge said. Zack and Max pulled away and looked to Cody and Tapeworm.

"Okay, Cody, on this song you need to play acoustic guitar." Zack said looking at his brother.

"What?" Cody quickly responded.

"I know you can play, you've done it before. We are going to be performing, _**How do you Talk to an Angel.**_" Zack said handing him an acoustic guitar. "Now go out there you and Tapeworm." He said pushing them on stage. Zack looked to Max and let her up first, and Zack followed her up. Zack looked at Cody which cued for he and Cody to start the intro to the song.

**Zack- _I hear a voice in my mind_**

_**I know her face by heart**_

_**Heaven and earth are moving in my soul**_

_**I don't know where to start **_**(Max comes in on bass and Tapeworm comes in on drums)**

_**Tell me, tell me the words to define**_

_**The way I feel about someone so fine**_

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

**Zack-_ How do you hold her close to where you are_**

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel._**

**Zack- _Its like trying to catch a falling star _(Instrumental part of the song)**

_**At night I dream that she is there**_

_**And I can feel her in the air**_

_**Tell me, tell me the words to define**_

_**The way I feel about someone so fine **_

**The whole group-_ How do you talk to an angel_**

**Zack- _How do you hold her close to where you are_**

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

**Zack- _It's like trying to catch a falling star _(Another instrumental part of the song)**

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

_**How do you hold her close to where you are**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

**Zack- _It's like trying to catch a falling star_**

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

_**How do you hold her close to where you are**_

_**How do you talk to an angel**_

**Zack- _It's like trying to catch a falling star_**

_**Yeah**_

_**Yeah **_

_**Oh**_

They finished their second song the mall filled again with cheers and applause. Scarlett Spider was staring them down. Jacob looked at his band mates and shook his head.

"This can't be happening." He said. "They can't be doing better than us."

"Well Jake, this is only the second half there is still one more half until the actual winner is announced." Taylor said looking at Jake.

"I swear if they go on to the next round with us and beat us, they are going to wish they never did this competition." Jacob said.

Zack looked from the audience to Max and smiled at her, _I love you, _he mouthed to her. Max smiled and nodded, _I love you,_ she mouthed back. Zack nodded and smiled. He turned back to the audience and waved to the audience. He took his guitar off and followed the rest of the band off stage.

At 9:00 that night they were ready to go onto the last round. The judge walked back on stage and had two envelops in his hands. He picked up a microphone and began to speak to the audience and competitors.

"Well, our night is finally coming to a close and we have narrowed it down to two finalists. They have both been excellent tonight. They have had wonderful songs and beautiful voices. Are we all ready to hear from our two finalists?" He asked the audience.

"YEAH!" They screamed.

"Alright." The judge laughed, "Well our two finalists are SCARLETT SPIDER AND ROCK SQUARED!" He exclaimed. The audience screamed and cheered as they loved both groups.

"WE DID IT!" Max squealed jumping up and down and hugged Zack.

"Come on we have to go up on stage." Zack said grabbing Max's hand and walked up on stage. Cody and Tapeworm followed.

Scarlett Spider walked up on the other side of the stage and all glared at Rock Squared. Jacob kept his eyes on Zack the whole time. As they finished getting recognized, Rock Squared walked off so Scarlett Spider could have the stage. Jacob grabbed Zack's arm and pulled him towards him. Max, Cody, and Tapeworm stopped and gave Jacob a dirty look. He looked back at them and gave them a weird look.

"Excuse us." He said glaring at the other three. "This is lead singer to lead singer." He said.

"Then you can talk to me too." Max said stepping forward.

"No Max." Zack said, "Don't get involved. I don't want you to get hurt." He said.

Max nodded and stepped back and walked off the stage with Cody and Tapeworm. Jacob looked back at Zack and gave him an evil smile.

"Back out." Jacob said in harsh whisper.

"No." Zack quickly responded, "I'm not backing out of this competition because you feel threatened."

"If you know what is good for you, you will back out." Jacob said grabbing a tight grip around Zack's arm.

"No." He said jerking his arm out of Jacob's grip. "I don't have to listen to you." He said and walked off stage.

"You are going to regret that." Jacob said watching Zack walk down the stairs to Max. "You and your little girlfriend." He said turning back around to the audience and started the introduction to his song.

"What did he want?" Cody asked.

"Can you believe that he wanted us to back out of the competition." Zack said looking at all of them.

"Yes, because he feels like we are taking his fame." Max said. "It's about time. The spotlight has been on them for way to long. It's our turn to shine." She said walking towards the stage. "And I'm going to prove it." She said. "Tell the judges that there has been a change in our final song." She said with a confident smile and nod. "Tell them our last song is going to be called, **Girls Night Out**, it's time to have some fun boys. Cody play keyboard like you never have before, Tapeworm play drums like you never have before. Zack tear up that guitar, and I'm not playing I'm just singing I'm going to dance like I never have before. Tape play the bass drum as strong as possible since I'm not on bass." She said in an almost demanding way. Zack, Cody, and Tapeworm looked at each other nodded and smiled. "We are going to show Scarlett Spider who really deserves the spotlight." She said.

Cody walked up behind the judges and explained to them the change in plan for their last song. The judge nodded and accepted the change. Scarlett Spider finished their song and were drowned out in applause and cheers. Jacob walked down the stairs and walked up to Zack.

"You hear that. Beat it!" Jacob said knocking into Zack's shoulder. Zack fell back a few steps and gave him a dirty look.

"Oh we will." Max said. "Don't think we won't."

"We'll see." Jacob said walking past them.

"Come on guys!" Max said walking on stage. Zack, Tapeworm and Cody followed behind her. Max took the microphone and stood in the middle of the stage and spoke to the audience.

"Well, we had a little change in plan." She said. "Instead of using the song we originally were going to use we decided to use something more upbeat and fun. I hope you all enjoy. HIT IT BOYS!" She said pointing to them. Tapeworm started the song off, followed by Cody on keyboards and Zack on electric guitar.

_**Don't Call me, Leave me alone**_

_**Not gonna answer my phone**_

_**Cuz I don't **_

_**No I won't see you**_

_**I'm out to have a good time**_

_**To get you off of my mind**_

_**Cuz I don't**_

_**And I won't need you**_

_**Send out a 911 **_

_**We're gonna have some fun**_

_**Hey boy you know you better run**_

_**Cuz it's a girls night out**_

_**It's alright without you**_

_**I'm gonna stay out **_

_**And play out**_

_**Without you**_

_**You better hold tight**_

_**Cuz girls' night without you**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go**_

_**It's a girls' night **_**(Instrumental for a couple seconds)**

_**I'll dance with somebody new**_

_**Won't have to think about you**_

_**And who knows what that girl will lead to**_

_**You'll hear from everyone**_

_**You'll get the 411**_

_**Hey boy you knew this day would come**_

_**Cuz it's a girls' night **_

_**It's alright without you**_

_**I'm gonna stay out**_

_**And play out **_

_**Without you**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go**_** (Everything stops except drums)**

_**Hey boy**_

_**Don't you wish you could have been a good boy**_

_**Try to find another girl like me boy**_

_**Feel me when I tell ya I'm fine and it's time for me to draw the line**_

_**I say hey boy**_

_**Don't you wish you could have been a good boy**_

_**Try to find another girl like me boy**_

_**Feel me when I tell ya**_** (Drum stops) ****_I'm fine and it's time for me to draw the line._ (Drums come back in) _ Draw the line, Draw the line_**

_**Cuz it's a girls' night **_**(All instruments come back in)**

_**It's alright without you**_

_**I'm gonna stay out **_

_**And play out**_

_**Without you**_

_**You better hold tight**_

_**Cuz it's a girls' night without you**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go GNO**_

_**Let's go**_

_**It's a girls' night**_

As they finished all of them were sweating especially Max and Tapeworm. She placed the microphone on the stand and the mall broke into a loud roar of applause, cheers, and whistles. Zack looked over at Max who looked back at him. He gave a her a smile, that said she did a really good job. He took the guitar off and placed it in the holder. Tapeworm wiped the sweat off his face with his shirt sleeve as did Cody. The judge ran up on stage.

"I want you guys to stay up here and we want Scarlett Spider to come up here." He said.

Scarlett Spider walked on stage and glared at Rock Squared once again. They all smiled confidently at Scarlett Spider. The judge was handed an envelop and he picked up a microphone and spoke up.

"Well, it's been a long day. We've heard from hundreds of talented acts today. We shared some tears, laughs and cheers. We have narrowed it down from hundreds, to four, to two, and now it is time to find out who our winner is. Is it going to be two time winning act Scarlett Spider or is it going to be Rock Squared?" He said and opened to envelop. He looked at the winner's name on the card and smiled. He looked back up at the audience. "Our winner is.. ROCK SQUARED!" He exclaimed. The mall once again filled with cheers, applause, and whistles. "Rock squared will be provided with a 20,000 dollars for new equipment and instruments, and will record a CD and it will be given by us to one of the hottest music producers and managers. Without a doubt Rock Squared will be the newest and hottest singing act. Look for there CD that will be released in a couple of months." He said and the mall again cheered them.

"We did it!" Max squealed. "We actually did it, and you doubted us." She told Cody.

"Well, it was all thanks to you and Zack that we won. You two were great." Cody said. Max and Zack smiled at his comment. Zack wrapped his arm around Max and pulled her close to him.

"You're the reason we won." He told her and ran his hands up underneath her hair and held the back of her neck. "You were gorgeous out there." he said as he leaned down towards her and locked lips with her. Max slid her hands up his back.

"Congratulations!" The judge said handing Cody the check for $20,000. "You deserved it!"

"Thank-you." Cody said taking the check. Zack and Max pulled away and looked at the judge.

"Congratulations!" The judge said again as he shook Zack's hand.

"Thank-you sir." He said.

"Hang on to her." The judge said. "She's a beauty with a voice, and let me tell you she can move." He said winking at Max. "Don't let her go." He said.

"Oh I won't." Zack said smiling at the judge.

"Good." He said patting Zack on the back as he walked off the stage.

"Come on guys let's get out of here." Max said. "I'm tired." She said and they left the mall to go back to the apartment.


	6. Jealousy, Hate and Love

**A/N: What's up? I really hope you all are liking my story. I really hope I didn't bore you to bad in my last chapter. I do apologize for the chapter being so long, but I wanted to show their songs. So here is the newest chapter of the story. It's short so it shouldn't bore you as much as the last chapter. I told you about the sequel I'm going to make to this story and if you will please leave me a review on if you think I should write part two of this story. Please. **

**Chapter 6: Jealousy, Hate and Love**

Jacob was sitting on his couch holding a gun in his hand. He had so many evil thoughts running through his head. He wanted to just shoot them all, but he didn't want to hurt Max. He had always had a small crush on her. The only problem was that she was with Zack.

Zack, the guy he had always hated. He hated him the most of all. None of the other ones were a problem. He just never seemed to care for Zack. One thought that kept swimming in his head was kill Zack. He thought that would be the best thing to do. That way Max would belong to only him. The spotlight that Zack stole from him he could take it back.

"Jake." Nathan one of his band mates spoke up.

"What!" Jacob snapped and glared at his band mate.

"You can't let this get to you." He said. "It's only a competition. There are going to be so many more. So many more that we can win."

"No!" Jacob snapped. "It won't be the same, because Zack and his little band will be at the top of the charts."

"We can still be more popular than them if we win the next competition." Nathan said.

"No!" Jacob snapped again. "There will not be a first time for Zack and his band. I'm going to destroy them and all of their chances of winning. Zack will never have another chance." He said as he glared off in the darkness. "I'm coming after you." He said thinking about Zack and popped his gun.

"You can't kill him!" Nathan said.

"Says who." Jacob said walking past Nathan.

"Jake, you'll be caught." Nathan said, "Because I know his brother and that girlfriend of his will be after whoever kills him."

"I don't care." Jacob said. "I've hated him ever since I first saw him. If I get rid of him that's one less person I have to worry about." He said and walked into his bedroom and slammed the door.

"I thought that was great." Max said as she sat down on the bed.

"Yeah." Zack agreed, "It was." He said walking into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Max pulled the covers back and got into the bed and pulled the covers over her. A couple minutes later Zack walked out of the bathroom and smiled as he looked down at Max who was trying to sleep. He walked to the other side of the bed and gently lied down next to her and faced her. He noticed one lone strand of her dark brown hair hanging over her face. He took his hand and gently brushed it behind her ear. Max opened her eyes and smiled at Zack. Zack gently smiled back.

"I love you, Zack." She whispered.

"I love you." He whispered, "I always have." He said softly brushing her cheek with his finger. "There wasn't one day that I didn't think about you after you left for California." He said.

"When you sang that song today." She said closing her eyes. "I could tell you meant every word of it."

"I'm glad." He said. "I didn't think I put enough emphasis on some of the words."

"You did." Max replied. "And it was beautiful."

Zack smiled at her and moved closer. He lifted up on his elbow and dreamily stared down at her a moment and gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. He then cautiously leaned forward and slid one hand underneath her hair and held the back of her neck as he locked lips with her.

"Zack." She whispered as they pulled away and she reopened her eyes.

"What is it?" He asked sweetly as he looked down at her adoringly.

"I think I've found the right one." She whispered. "You know? The one I'm supposed to be with. It's like that song I sang today. You are one in a million." She whispered. "I love you." Zack smiled at her as he knew exactly how she felt. Only he had felt that way long before she did. "Zack, I want you to touch me." She said taking her tank top off and laying it on the floor. She then leaned over and flipped the light on the nightstand off, and pulled the covers off of her and bent her knees.

Zack pulled himself up and slowly crawled on top of her. He nestled his head up underneath her chin and began to kiss her neck. Max closed her eyes as a feeling of euphoria took over her body. She ran her hands through his blonde hair and slid her hands down his back. She then slid her hands up underneath his shirt and started pulling it up.

Zack pulled away for a moment and let Max take his shirt off, and dropped it to the ground on top of hers. Max shut her eyes as Zack's soft warm chest laid down on top of her. Zack ran his hands over Max's soft arms, over her shoulders and up underneath her hair, and then relaxed his hands underneath her neck. He then leaned down and locked lips with her.

"Zack, I want to stay with you." She whispered as they pulled away. "Forever."

"You don't know how much I love to hear that." He whispered leaning down towards her and locked lips with her, and slowly worked his way down to her chest.

Max shut her eyes and ran her fingers up underneath his hair as he moved from her chest to her stomach. He then placed his hands on the top of her pajama bottoms and began to pull them off. He slid them off and tossed it to the ground.

Chills ran down her spin as Zack's hands ran up her bare legs, and he leaned down towards her again and locked lips with her. As he pulled away he sat up and took off his pajama bottoms and threw them to the ground. He then leaned down towards her and locked lips with her again when he realized that she was tensed up. Zack pulled away concerned.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied. "Just a little nervous that's it."

"We don't have to do this. I'm not forcing you." He said.

"No. I want to." She replied.

Zack nodded and leaned down towards her and again locked lips with her. Max held on tight to his back as he made his way in. She closed her eyes and loosened her grip on his back as she began to relax. He started to slow up as he began to become tired and breathe heavily. He let out a small moan as he finished off inside her. He pulled himself out and laid down on top of her.

"You okay?" He asked in between breaths as he laid his head down on top of her chest.

"Yeah." She replied just as breathless as him. "How about you? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He said and closed his eyes. Max wrapped her arms around his back, and closed her eyes and held him close as they slept.


	7. A New Addition

**A/N: Hey I'm glad you are liking my story. I hope the last chapter wasn't too short. Well if it was this chapter will make up for it. Thanks for the review. I was so happy when I saw it. ****J**** Thanks. **

**As this story comes to a close I'm going to be talking a lot more about the sequel I have already started. I'm still working on a title but the title as of right now is, "Shattered and Destroyed" I'm just letting you all know now if you are interested in reading the sequel to this story it's not going to be to fluffy, it's going to be one of my darker stories. It's is more than likely going to be rated "M" For violence and language POSSIBLE death. That is still up in the air right now. I just thought I'd let you all know that. I will let you know at the end of the story what rating I'm going to but on it. **

**So until then, here is my new chapter. I hope you all enjoy. I hope to hear from you guys really soon. **

**Chapter 7: A New Addition**

A couple of weeks past by and they had already bought their new instruments. Tapeworm had always wanted a red drum set and went out and bought one. Cody got a new keyboard that had so many new gadgets on it that he was still reading the manual to it. Zack got a brand new black electric guitar and acoustic guitar. Max got a purple bass guitar that she just had to have.

They walked into the recording studio and began to set up their equipment as they waited to meet their music producer and manager. Max was setting up her bass and hooking it up to the amp when she suddenly felt sick and lightheaded. She quickly pulled herself up and couldn't quite stand up straight.

"Max?" Tapeworm called as he looked up from his drum set and saw she was pale and looked as if she could fall out at any moment. Cody and Zack looked up from their instruments and noticed the same thing that Tapeworm saw.

Max heard someone call her name but there was a small delay until she finally looked over at Tapeworm. She stood silent. She didn't say a word she just looked at him.

"Max?" Tapeworm called becoming concerned. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I…" She trailed off as she started to fall backwards.

"Max!" Tapeworm called as he jumped up from behind his drum set. Zack dropped everything and ran over towards her. Cody quickly got up from behind his keyboard and ran over to her. Zack caught her and fell backward into the wall.

"Max." He called as he lifted himself up off the wall and picked her up. He carried her to a chair and sat down as he held her.

"What happened?" Tapeworm asked as he and Cody finally got over to them.

"I don't know." Zack replied. "She just fell out."

A moment after that the music manager and music producer walked into the studio. They opened the door and saw all of them gathered in one corner.

"Good morning." The music manager said.

Zack, Tapeworm, and Cody looked over at him. The music manager noticed that Zack was holding somebody in his arms. He walked over towards them and noticed that what he was holding was a girl.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Sir, this is our fourth member, but she passed out a couple moments ago." Cody said. "We don't know what happened. All we know is that she was white as a ghost right before she passed out."

"Michael!" The music manager yelled over towards the producer.

"What's up?" He called poking is head into the studio.

"Call an ambulance!" He said.

Michael nodded and called an ambulance. Within a few minutes they had arrived and took Max in who was still unconscious when they arrived. Zack, Cody, and Tapeworm sat in the waiting room on edge as they waited for the doctor to finish running tests on her.

"Are you guys with Maxine Montgomery?" A young male doctor asked.

"Yes we are." Tapeworm said and stood up.

"Is she okay?" Zack asked standing up next to Tapeworm.

"Will she be okay?" Cody added standing up.

"Yes, she's fine." The doctor said. "We ran all kinds of tests on her and they all came back good. Nothing is wrong with her." He said.

"Then what caused her to pass out?" Zack asked looking at the doctor.

"Well, when all the tests we ran on her came out good we used one last test on her. The simplest test in the world which was a pregnancy test. The result of that came out positive, she is three weeks along."

"Wait." Zack said not quite believing what he was hearing. "Aren't women supposed to have morning sickness?"

"Usually, but bodies respond differently to certain things, and in her case her body shut down, but I'm sure that won't happen again." The doctor said.

"Does she know?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, we told her." The doctor said.

"How'd she take it?" Zack asked almost frightened.

"She took it quite well. She was actually happy when I told her." The doctor said. "She's awake if you want to go see her. She will be released later as soon as I get some paperwork finished." He said and walked off towards the nurses station.

"But who is the father?" Tapeworm asked looking at Zack and Cody. Cody looked over at Zack and then to Tapeworm.

"Think about it." Cody said as he began to explain to Tapeworm. "She is three weeks along. You both moved in with us three weeks ago. She shared a room with Zack. Who else would it be?" Cody asked.

"Are you really?" Tapeworm asked looking at Zack.

"Yeah." He replied and walked off towards her room.

Zack walked down the hall towards her room. He stopped at her door and knocked. Max put a parenting magazine that the doctor gave her down on the bed.

"Come in." She said.

Zack pushed the door open and walked inside, and then shut the door behind him. He walked around the corner. A smile came across her face as she saw him.

"Hey." She said. "Come, Sit down." She said patting the bed for him to come sit down next to her. Zack nervously walked over to her and sat down.

"I'm sorry." He said laying his head down on her shoulder.

"Don't be." She said wrapping her arm around his shoulder and brushing his hair with her fingernails. "I'm glad this happened. I'm excited to be a mother." She said laying her head on top of his.

"You're still so young though." Zack said.

"So." She said. "I've always wanted to be that cool mother. You know the one that is young and like a teenager herself. The mother that all my child's friends think is awesome, and this is my chance." She said with a smile.

"You would have been a cool mother anyway. Even if you didn't get pregnant until you were like thirty." Zack said pulling his head up of her shoulder and looked at her. "You are also going to be a hot mom too." He said with a smile.

"Awe. Thank-you." She said hugging him. "How do you feel about this?" She asked.

"As long as your happy I'm happy." He said. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure this child has everything they want. I'm going to be sure that they do what their supposed to do and guide them in any direction they chose to take." He said with such sincerity that Max knew that he wasn't lying.

"Good." She said with a nod. Zack softly smiled at her and leaned in towards her and kissed her.

"Congratulations!" Tapeworm and Cody exclaimed as they burst into the room carrying a teddy bear and flowers. Zack and Max pulled apart and saw them standing at the foot of the bed.

"Awe. Thanks guys." She said as she took the teddy bear and flowers from Tapeworm and placing them on the table next to her.

"Zack, how does it feel?" Cody asked.

"I'm speechless." He replied. Max pulled him into a hug. "It's great though."

"You ready to go Ms. Montgomery?" The doctor asked walking up to her bed.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She replied.

"Well, you are free to go." He said, "See you in a few months if everything goes good." He said with a wink.

Zack got up and helped Max up off the bed. She grabbed her things and they all walked out of the hospital where their music manager Timothy Taylor and music producer Michael Shelby picked them up. They wanted to take Max home so she could get some rest, but she was stubborn and she wanted to go back to the studio and start making their first album.

"This is what we had planned. We heard what you guys sang at the competition and we got a hold of the writers, producers, and artists and they said that we could let you guys do a remake of those songs." The manager began. "And let me tell you Max." He said looking right at her. "That last song that you sang at the competition it was right up your alley, and you were hot up there. I'd love to see that again when we remake that song." He said.

"Whoa. Wait a minute." Zack interrupted. "She's pregnant. I'm not going to let her dance like that when she is pregnant. She might make a wrong move and fall and lose the baby, and I'm not going to let that happen." He said.

"Let me guess." The manager said. "You're the father."

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Zack asked.

"Your fatherly instincts are kicking in." The manager said. "Okay fine." He said. "We won't have her dance, but she better sing like there is no tomorrow."

"She will." Zack said a little angry with the manager.

"Now we are going to start with, you guys instrument layout for, _**One in a Million,**_" He said walking out of the studio and shutting the door behind him. "I really don't like that Zack guy." The manager said. "He's got real attitude and me and attitude do not get along well."

"Okay guys." Michael the producer spoke, "You ready?" He asked placing is hand on the record button. They nodded and as did Michael. "Okay you are on." He said and pressed the record button.

At the end of the day they had recorded the instrumental layouts for over half of there songs. They left the studio and were told to be back up there tomorrow morning to finish the rest of the layouts and if they finished that they could start recording their voices.


	8. A Secret Is Revealed

**A/N: This chapter takes place 3 months after Max found out she was pregnant and they finally got their CD released and are the hottest band in the country at this time. They are also on their nationwide tour at this time. **

**This chapter is all about Jacob, but don't worry it's short and I will have chapter 9 placed up tomorrow. I promise, so don't let this chapter stop you from reading. Also in this chapter you will find out a small something about one of Jacob's band mates and the connection he had with Zack. **

**I don't know if you guys have read my story "I'll Always Be There", but if you have or haven't and want to go check it out, starting today I've gone back and started to rewrite it. It's not on the computer yet, but it will be soon. So if you are interested in reading the revised version I'll keep you up to date on the updates. **

**So anyway I do hope you like this chapter, and please remember to leave me a review. **

**Chapter 8: A Secret Is Revealed**

"Look at this!" Jacob yelled to his band mates as they were in a music store. His band mates ran over to him. "Look at this shit!" He said tossing Rock Squared's CD at his band mates.

"Wow they're in the best sellers section." Nathan said looking at the CD. "And this is the only one left." He said when a teenage girl walked up behind him and saw that he was holding the last Rock Squared CD.

"Thank-you." She said taking the CD from Nathan and then walked off to the cash register.

"Damn it!" Jacob said and kicked the CD stand. "That's it I can't take this anymore! I'm gonna kill him." He said and walked out of the store.

He got back to his apartment and got online and looked up concert information on Rock Squared. He clicked on the first page on the google search engine that lead to their official site. The first picture that appeared on the page was the album cover. Zack and Max were standing in the front with black leather outfits.

Zack was standing behind Max wearing black leather pants, white t-shirt and a black leather jacket with black boots to go along with it. He had one arm wrapped around Max's stomach and holding his guitar by his side with his other hand.

Max stood in front wearing a black leather miniskirt with a black tube top. She was also wearing black fishnet stockings and black leather knee high boots. Her hair was in spiral curls that fell to her waist. She was leaning against Zack with her arms wrapped around his neck. Tapeworm and Cody stood in the back dressed like Zack with there arms folded across their chest.

Just staring at the picture got Jacob even madder. He hated seeing them in the spotlight. Especially Zack. He would do anything it took to get rid of him. As he continued to scroll down the page he noticed that Zack and Max were the most popular members of the band, because most of the comments on the page were written for them. He understood why Max was popular she was hot, but Zack. That just grossed him out. He finally found the link to concert information. He clicked it and saw that they were playing in town in a couple of months at the civic center.

"Perfect." He said with an evil grin. He pulled open the drawer next to him and pulled out his gun. "I finally get to use you baby." He said stroking the gun as if it were his pet, and then kissed it. He opened the gun and loaded the one bullet he was going to use on Zack. He closed it and gently laid it back into the drawer. He then pulled out some paper and wrote down the information he needed. He got up and walked into the den where the rest of the band were sitting watching the concert on television. Jacob stopped as he saw what they were watching.

"Have you guys noticed that Max is looking a little fat?" Taylor asked looking at her singing on the television.

"She's still hot." Nathan said.

"Of course. She could be 300 pounds and still be hot." Taylor said.

"She actually looks pregnant." Travis said. "Lucky bastard who tapped that."

"Oh come on you know who the father is." Nathan said looking at Travis. "It's Zack." He said. "They have been friends for years and have been dating for a while now." He said. "Oh man and look at their audience that whole 5 balcony arena is sold out."

"CAN YOU GUYS SHUT UP!" Jacob snapped. "I'M SICK OF HEARING YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT THEM! YOU GUYS KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE THEM!"

"Sorry." They all said at the same time.

"Travis, you know people who work at the civic center, right?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"Rock Squared is coming here in a couple of months, and I need someone to let me in through the back." He said.

"Jake." Nathan warned. "Don't do it."

"What are you?" He asked, "My mother. Shut the fuck up, I'm not talking to you." He said.

"Jake, he's about to be a father." Nathan said.

"Like I care." Jacob snapped, "Travis! Can you get me in?"

"Sure, but I'm going to have explain to them what is happening." Travis said.

"Whatever you do don't tell them the truth." Jake said.

Nathan got up and walked to his room. He didn't like Jacob's plan. He never did like Jacob's plan. Jacob never knew Nathan and Zack were like best friends back in elementary school. They did drift apart when he became friends with Jacob. He also knew Max too, he had always had a crush on her, but the better guy got her. He didn't hold a grudge on Zack for that though. The only reason Nathan acted like he hated Zack in the competition was so Jacob wouldn't guess that he and Zack were actually alright with each other. Because if Jacob knew that, he would kill him along with Zack.

Nathan got up and closed his door and locked the door. He flipped on his television and plugged in his ear phones so he could watch the concert in peace. He even bought their CD. He was actually a fan of theirs, but would never let Jacob find out. His favorite song came on which was Zack's, _**How Do You Talk To An Angel.**_

It just killed him to know that Zack and Max didn't know what was going to happen to them in a couple months. I mean it saddened him to know that Zack was only eighteen and his life would be shortened. He also watched the way that Max looked at him as he sang the song. She was truly in love, and he couldn't take to see her life shattered. It almost made him cry to know how much Max would be hurt by this.

The concert ended and he flipped off the television. He walked over to his bed and laid down. He tried to sleep but couldn't. He had too much on his mind. He just kept tossing and turning as he saw what was going to happen play in his head over and over again. He sat up and decided that he would try and get the news to them as soon as possible even is that meant getting himself killed.


	9. A Life Lost and A Heart Shattered

**A/N: Hey guys what's up? I hope you all liked my last chapter. So here is my new one. I hope you like it. I should let you know I only have one main chapter after this one and then an epilogue. So I am almost finished and I should be putting my sequel to this story up soon. So keep a look out for it if you are interested. It is going to be called, "Shattered and Destroyed". Please read and review. **

**Chapter 9: A Life Lost and a Heart Shattered**

"It is going to be so great being home." Max said as their private jet landed at a Boston airport.

"Yeah, I know." Zack agreed. "We haven't been home in 7 months. This is going to be fun."

They got off the plane and saw their many fans standing behind the gates screaming for them. Zack, Max, Tapeworm, and Cody stood in shock as they saw how many fans they had. They were lined up from the door to the airport all the way down to the plane on both sides and there were crowds of people behind them, and camera flashes going off in each direction. It blew their mind to see all the fans they had. They started walking down the runway towards the airport.

"ZACK, I LOVE YOU!" One girl yelled as he walked past her. He stopped in front of her and gave her an autograph.

"WOW!" Zack called over to Max. "THIS IS CRAZY!" He yelled over the screaming fans. Max looked over at Zack and smiled at him.

"MAX!" A guy yelled as he pushed his way up to the front to get to her. "I LOVE YOU!" He yelled as he handed her a piece of paper. She took the paper and signed it.

"HERE YOU GO." She said handing him the paper back.

She waved to him and started walking off to airport with the rest of the band. He started climbing the fence and jumped over it and started running after her. He grabbed her arm and she let out a small scream as he spun her around. Zack turned around and saw what was happening. He was about to turn around and go after her, but their body guards pushed them into the building, and the other body guards went after Max.

The guy grabbed her face and frenched her. She tried to pull away put he wouldn't let her go. That's when he began to try and feel her up. Zack kept trying to look over his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything the body guards were blocking his views.

"Help!" She yelled as she saw the body guards running towards her.

The body guards pulled the guy off of her and rushed her inside. They quickly escorted her to the limacine that was waiting for them. They gently pushed her inside with the other guys. Zack got up and walked over towards her and sat down next to her. He saw the horrified look on her face. It frightened him.

"You okay?" He asked. Max nodded as she was still scared about what just happened. "What happened? You look frightened."

"That crazy boy frenched me, and then started to feel me up." She said as she tried to hold back the tears.

"He what?" Zack asked anger filling his voice.

"No, I'm fine." She said. "It just scared me."

"He didn't do anything else, did he?" He asked.

"No." She replied wiping the tears from her eyes.

Later that night they arrived at the civic center and got prepared for their concert. It would be another sell out. Max was looking through her wardrobe to find the outfit that she wanted to where tonight. They were told to all where white tonight. They thought it would look classy. She found a white outfit that she liked. She was going to go with the classic look. She chose the long white dress that touched the ground. She put it on and her hair dresser was putting her hair in waves. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." She said. The hairdresser turned her chair around so she could see the door. Zack opened the door and stepped inside. He stopped in the doorway as the saw how beautiful she looked.

"You look beautiful." He said. "You look like an angel."

The hairdresser finished Max's hair. Max got up and walked up to Zack and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"You look good too." She said. "You should where white more often. White looks really good on you." She said.

"Maybe I will." He said with a smile, and leaned down towards her and kissed her. "I love you." He said as they pulled away.

"I love you."

"Guys we're on in 30 minutes." The stage manager said as he passed by Max's dressing room.

Jacob began to get suspicious about Nathan. He began to figure out Nathan was cool with Rock Squared. When Nathan stepped out he walked in and found their CD in his CD player and he even saw their poster hanging on his wall. He also figured that Nathan was going to go and warn them about tonight.

Jacob sat down at his desk and pulled out his gun. He then opened it and popped another bullet in and he was going to use that on Nathan. He closed his gun and saw his band mates all except Nathan standing at the doorway.

"Where's Nathan?" Jacob asked sticking the gun in the back of his pants.

"We don't know." Travis said. "He disappeared this afternoon."

"I know exactly where he is going." Jacob said pushing past his band mates. "I got to get him."

The band mates followed Jacob out of the apartment and got in the car. They drove off and looked for Nathan. Everyone in the car kept their eyes open as they searched the streets for him.

"There he is!" Travis yelled. Jacob pulled the car off to the side of the road and started chasing after him.

Nathan turned around and saw Jacob running after him. He started running and took off down an alleyway. Jacob started to run faster and finally caught up to him. He grabbed Nathan's arm and tossed him into the brick wall.

"I found out your little secret." Jacob said shoving a gun up underneath Nathan's chin. "You were a fan of Rock Squared all along. You were also friends with Zack at one point in your life. That doesn't roll with me. I hate Zack." He said, "Which means I hate you." He said and popped the gun and shoved it harder underneath Nathan's chin. "You were on your way to tell Zack. I KNOW YOU WERE!" He said. "Now you can't stop me, because I'm going to kill you and you will die along side your best friend." He said and then pulled the trigger.

Jacob looked down at his hand and saw blood rolling down his glove and up his sleeve. He dropped Nathan to the ground and ran to the car. The band mates followed him and got in the car. Jacob then sped off towards the civic center.

Zack, Max, Cody, and Tapeworm walked on stage all dressed in white. They looked classy and hot all at the same time. Max waved to all the fans and picked up her bass guitar and wrapped it around her shoulder as did Zack. Tapeworm sat on his stool behind the drums and waved to the fans. Cody started to just play a tune on his keyboard until Zack walked up to the microphone.

"Hey guys!" Zack said "How are we all tonight?" He asked the fans.

"GREAT!" They all yelled.

"Good. Good. That's great. We are thrilled to be here in Boston tonight. After all this is our hometown. This is where we got our big break. It's just great being back in a familiar environment. Visiting with old friends and just chilling out. It's always great. Well, anyway as you all know this is our first tour. It's been great so far. Every place we've been to has been sold out. It's great to know so many people enjoy our music, and we enjoy playing it for you. So that's what we are going to do. We are going to start this concert. We are going to start with Max's, _**One in a Million**_ We have realized that, that song is one of our most popular. So here it goes let's start it off Cody." He said and within moments of that Cody and Zack started off the song.

Jacob arrived at the civic center and saw how many people were parked outside. He knew this wasn't a good idea someone would end up seeing him. He didn't care though he wanted Zack out of his way. They stepped out the car and heard the music from all the way down the street. He knew by the voice that Max was singing that song she sang at the competition.

They walked to the back of the civic center and ran into Travis's friend, Kyle at the back. Kyle made sure no one was looking. He then opened the door and let them inside. They all found little backstage passes in the back and took them.

"Where do you think you are going?" A security guard asked them.

"Uh, we are friends of the band." Jacob said, "See we all have passes." He said. The security guard gave them a suspicious look, but let them pass. Jacob found a ladder in the back that led to the top of the stage. "Make sure no one comes this way." He said as he started climbing up the ladder. He got up to the top of the stage and looked down. He found that he was right behind Zack. That was exactly where he wanted to be. He popped the gun and began to aim it.

**Max- _You're One in A Million. _**

She finished her song and the civic center roared in screams, whistles, and yells. Zack pulled back from the microphone and looked over at Max and smiled at her. Max pulled back from her microphone and smiled back at him.

Zack stepped back up to the microphone, and spoke up, "This next song that we are going to do is one of my favorites. This song I'm about to sing is dedicated to my girlfriend and the mother of my child. I'm pretty sure at this point you know who that special lady is. She is right here with me now." He said looking over at Max and smiled. "She knows I love her and that I'd do anything for her, but I still sometimes get shy to talk to her and so this is where this song comes in and helps me out. It's called, _**How Do You Talk To An Angel**_. With this song I'm actually going to need my brother to come play acoustic guitar for me. Cody if you will please." He said looking over at Cody. Cody stepped out from behind the keyboard and walked up to the front with Zack and Max. Zack looked over at Cody and the two of them began the song.

**Zack- _I hear a voice in my mind_**

_**I know her face by heart.**_

_**Heaven and earth are moving in my soul**_

_**I don't know where to start **_**(Max enters on bass and Tapeworm enters on drums)**

_**Tell me, tell me the words to define**_

_**The way I feel about someone so fine**_

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

**Zack- _How do you hold her close to where you are_**

**The whole group- _How do you talk to an angel_**

**Zack- _It's like trying to catch a falling star._ (Instrumental part)**

As Zack finished that last phrase Jacob placed his finger on the trigger and started to pull it back.

**Zack-** **_At night_**

As Zack finished saying the word night Jacob fired the gun and everything stopped the cheers and music. Zack just stood there in front of the microphone a blank look on his face. Jacob stood up there and watched to see what would happen. Zack grabbed the microphone stand and held it as he felt himself falling out. Max took her bass guitar off and placed it on the stand.

"ZACK! NO!" Max cried as she saw him falling forward. She ran over towards him. Cody took his guitar off and ran over towards him. Tapeworm threw his drumsticks down and pushed the stool out from underneath him and ran up towards the front. "ZACK!" Max cried again as she got down on her knees.

The fans just stood in silence. They cried along silently with the band as they waited and hoped that Zack would make it through. Cody and Tapeworm gently turned Zack over on his back. Cody lifted Zack up enough so that Tapeworm could take his guitar off. He slowly lifted the guitar off of Zack and gently laid it on the floor next to him. Cody then gently laid him back down on the floor.

"Max." He weakly whispered. "Oh Max, I'm sorry I didn't finish that song." He weakly whispered as he lifted his hand and held on to her cheek. "You know I love you, and forever will." He said as he slowly wiped the non stop tears from her eyes.

"Zack, no." She whispered as the tears continued to pour down her face. "This can't be happening." She whispered as she saw the weaker he got. "Please." She whispered closing her eyes. Zack slowly brushed her warm damp cheek with the back of his hand. Max slowly reopened her eyes and placed her hand on top of the hand that he was rubbing her cheek and held onto it tightly as she didn't want to let him go. He gave her a weak loving smile, and then looked over to Cody and Tapeworm.

"Cody, Tapeworm, I want you to look after her and the baby." He whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Be sure nothing happens to them." He said looking at both of them. Tapeworm and Cody nodded. "Do that for me?"

"Of course." Cody whispered as a tear ran down his cheek.

"You can count on us." Tapeworm whispered. "We aren't going to let anything happen to her or the baby."

Zack nodded and slowly looked back over to Max. "Be sure to tell the baby about me and how I'm right there for them, guiding them in every direction in life. Tell them that I love them." He whispered. Max nodded as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She leaned down over him and kissed him one last time. "I love you." He whispered as she slowly pulled away and reopened her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered.

Zack weakly smiled at her again. The arm that he had wrapped around her back as they shared their last kiss began to feel heavy and limp. Max started to cry harder as she saw the whites of his eyes take on a glassy yellow color and then his arm fell off her back and fall limply to the wooded stage. Max fell on top of his chest. She wrapped her arm around his waist and closed her eyes as she cried.

Tapeworm looked at Cody who was crying just as heavily as Max but more silently. Cody and Tapeworm wrapped their arms around Max and held her as she cried. When the news spread around the theater that Zack didn't make it everyone was crying silently along with the band.

Jacob looked down at Zack and the his friends who were hovered over him and nodded. He completed his task and now Rock Squared and Zack were now history. He placed the gun in the back of his pants and quietly stood up.

He looked up and saw another ladder that led to the roof. He grabbed onto it and started to quietly but swiftly climb up it. He got to the top and pushed the door open and climbed up on top of the roof. He saw his band mates already on their way to the car. He spotted another ladder and ran towards it. He climbed down the stairs and took of running in the night.


	10. Saying Last Goodbyes

**A/N: Hey guys sorry it took so long to update, but here I am with the next to the last chapter of this story. I all hope you like my last chapter. I redid it a few times before I actually posted it. I didn't want it to sound to cheeseballish. It probably was still cheesy, but I tried. Like I said the last chapter is going to be an epilogue it is going to help you understand where my sequel is coming from. There will be a few surprises in the epilogue about Max's baby. So I hope it will make the sequel more interesting. **

**I've already started working on chapter 1 and chapter 2 of the sequel, whihch I said the title was going to be Shattered and Destroyed and that is what it is going to stay. So keep a look out for it soon. I'm not going to post it too soon I might make some changes. Don't know yet. But anyway I hope you like this new chapter and please read and review. **

**Chapter 10: Saying Last Goodbyes**

The funeral service for Zack was open to the public. All the bands fans were able to go and say their last goodbyes to their favorite music artist. The funeral service was so huge they had to move it to one of the biggest sanctuary's in Boston. Most of the guest of course were fans. Upon entering the church they received a small program.

"On this afternoon of May 20th 2010 we are gathered here in this sanctuary to say our last goodbyes to a young man, by the name of Zachary Martin who was somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody's lover, somebody's best friend, and somebody's most admired idol. Somebody's hate cut this young man's life short and he will be dearly missed by those who admired him, and most of all by those so dear and close to him. This evening we have two people close to Zack who asked me if they could share a song in memory of the one they love. Maxine Montgomery and Cody Martin if you will, please share your song with us." the pastor said walking to the pew in the front of the church. Max and Cody walked up on stage behind the casket and picked up a microphone.

"Max and I both have our certain relationship with Zack. In my case he was a kind, loving, and protective brother that was willing to do whatever it took to keep my out of trouble, even if that meant getting himself in trouble for me. In Max's case it was a more intimate, romantic relationship. I could tell the first time we met Max that he had feelings for her. Although he wanted to deny it I knew it all along. When Max stepped back into his life I had never seen him so happy. They hit it off quickly and decided to take their friendship to the next level, and when Zack found out that he was going to be a father a new happiness came upon him. He would have done anything for this child, and it breaks my heart to know that Zack will never get to meet his child, because of someone's hate took his life." Cody said as he looked over at Max who had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Max and I are going to sing a song in loving memory of Zack." He said as he nodded to the guy in the music booth to start the song.

**Cody- **_Thanks for all you've done_

_I've missed you for so long_

_I can't believe you're gone_

_You still live in me_

_I feel you in the wind_

_You guide me constantly_

**Max- **_I've never knew what it was to be alone, no_

_Cause you were always there for me_

_You were always there waiting_

_And I'll come home and I miss your face so_

_Smiling down on me_

_I close my eyes to see_

**Both- **_And I know, you're a part of me_

_And it's your song that sets me free_

_I sing it while I feel I can't hold on_

_I sing tonight cause it comforts me_

_Ooo's_

**Max- **_I carry things that remind me of you_

_In loving memory of_

_The one that was so true_

_You were as kind as you could be_

_And even though you're gone_

_You still mean the world to me_

**Cody- **_I've never knew what it was to be alone, no_

_Cause you were always there for me_

_You were always there waiting_

_But now I come home and it's not the same, no_

_It feels empty and alone_

_I can't believe you gone_

**Both- **_And I know, you're a part of me  
And it's your song that sets me free  
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on  
I sing tonight cause it comforts me_

**Cody- **_I'm glad he set you free from sorrow_

_I'll still love you more tomorrow_

_And you will be here with me still_

**Max- **_And what you did you did with feeling_

_And you always found the meaning_

_And you always will_

_And you always will_

_And you always will_

**Both- **_Ooo's _

_And I know, you're a part of me_

_And it's your song that sets me free_

_I sing it while I feel I can't hold on_

_I sing tonight because it comforts me_

As they finished singing that song Cody looked over at Max who was balling. He placed his microphone back up and walked up to her. He took the microphone from her and placed it back on the stand. He turned her around and lifted her face up with his hand.

"Max, you don't have to sing the next song if you can't handle it." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her.

"I want to." She whispered.

"You sure?" He asked as they pulled away and he wiped away her tears from her eyes.

"Yeah." She said.

"As long as you want to I'm not going to stop you." He said. "I'll be right behind you. If you feel you can't handle it I'm right here." He said. Max nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes and turned back around and walked back up to the microphone and picked it up.

"There is one other song I'd like to sing in loving memory of Zack." She said and looked up at the man in the music booth. He nodded and started playing the song. Max took a deep breath and began to sing as well as she could without breaking down.

_Sha-la-la-la-la, Sha-la-la-la-la_

_You used to call me your angel_

_Said I was sent straight down from heaven_

_And you'd hold me close in you arms_

_I thought of the way you felt so strong_

_I never wanted you to leave_

_I wanted you to stay here holdin me_

_I miss you_

_I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know _

_I miss you_

_Sha-la-la-la-la_

_I miss you_

_You used to call me your dreamer _

_And now I'm livin out my dream_

_Oh, how I wish you could see_

_Everything that is happenin for me_

_I'm thinking back on the past_

_It's true the time is flyin by too fast_

_I miss you_

_I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know _

_I miss you_

_Sha-la-la-la-la_

_I miss you_

_I know you're in a better place yeah_

_But I wish that I could see your face, oh_

_I know you're where you need to be_

_Even though it's not hear with me_

_I miss you_

_I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know _

_I miss you_

_Sha-la-la-la-la_

_I miss you_

_I miss you_

_I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know _

_I miss you_

_Sha-la-la-la-la_

_I miss you_

Max finished her solo and put the microphone up, and Cody walked up behind her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her off the stage. He walked her to their seat next to Tapeworm. Tapeworm looked over at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him.

"You we're good." He whispered. "You and Cody had the whole sanctuary crying."

As the funeral ended they all were taken to the cemetery. Family, friends, and fans gathered around the casket that was sitting above the rectangular hole that was six feet deep. Family, Friends, and Fans each had roses that they laid on top of the casket. As the evening came to a close everyone began to slowly go their separate ways.

Max walked off with Cody and Tapeworm towards Cody's car. When they arrived at the car she opened the door to the passenger side. Before getting in she looked over her shoulder and saw as they began to lower the casket down into the ground.

A moment after that she felt a soft warm breeze brush against her cheek. The cheek that Zack would always hold in his hand and rub with his thumb. She gently shut her eyes in loving memory of Zack, as the soft warm breeze brushed against her cheek. As the breeze faded she opened her eyes and looked over at Cody.

"You ready?" He asked.

Max nodded and a soft smile came across her face. Something that had been hidden for almost a week now. She got in the car and shut the door and they left the cemetery.


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you all liked my story. I'm am bringing it to a close. I'm still making the sequel. It should be up shortly. **

**I've already started retyping chapter 1 to I'll Always Be There. I'm changing the rating from "M" to "T". I probably already mentioned this, but I'm going to change quite a bit around in that story. I'm going to make it more a crushing romance. If you don't get what I mean you'll see it when I replace it online. I'm going to be removing all of the older chapters and start replacing it with the new ones. Keep a look out for it. It's going to be the same title. The only difference is that it's going to have a different summary. Just keep a look out for it if you are interested. **

**So here is the epilogue I hope you like it and I hope it leads up to the sequel good. Please remember to read and review. **

**Epilogue**

Not long after Zack was murdered they found and arrested Jacob Morgan. They found him guilty for the murder of his former band mate Nathaniel Douglas and former singer Zachary Martin. They sentenced him twenty years in jail with a chance to be released on good behavior. Max and Cody didn't like that deal, but they had no control over what was decided.

On July 17th, 2010 Max had her babies. Yep that's right babies. All along Max knew she was carrying triplets. She never told anybody because she wanted to surprise Zack. Although he never got the surprise. She is the one who ended up getting the surprise. The murder of her one true love.

She did end up surprising Cody who was in the delivery room with her, and Tapeworm who was out in the waiting area. They were both surprised and excited about being an uncle to not one, not two, but three children. They planned to spoil those kids rotten.

She had two boys and a girl. The two boys were the oldest and the girl was the youngest. She named the boys Jayden Michael and Hayden Christopher. She named the girl Nevaeh Hope. She did give the children Zack's last name. The boys Jayden and Hayden were born identical. They took after Zack in everyway from bone structure and features to hair color. The girl Nevaeh was born fraternal instead of looking exactly like Zack she looked exactly like her mother. She had the same bone structure, features, and hair color.

After the children were born Max moved in with Cody and Tapeworm. The onlt reason she did that is because wanted a man in the children's life for guidance. Plus she felt it would be safer for her and the kids. By the time the kids turned five Tapeworm moved out. He met a wonderful woman and moved with her to Illinois where he plans to marry her.

Max is still single. It's not that she hasn't gotten any offers. She has gotten many offers. More than you can count. Out of all the guys who asked her out none of them met her standards. No one could ever be as perfect as Zack. She soon realized that and decided that she would remain single and live with Cody.

As the children got older they became more and more curious about who there father was. Max wouldn't tell them. She thought they were to young and she didn't want to scare them.

Now the triplets are thirteen, and still haven't been told about their father. Max still doesn't think it's the right time. She told herself that she would tell them when they turn sixteen. All they want is just a little piece of information of who he was. They just want to know where they came from and what he was like.


End file.
